Nadeau, Gray at loggerheads over selectman's pursuit of TA job

MILTON - Selectmen Chair Tom Gray on Wednesday apologized on social media to budget committee member Stan Nadeau for remarks the selectman chair made at a board meeting on Monday after Nadeau demanded his resignation as selectman since he was applying for the $60,000-a-year town administrator job formerly held by fired interim manager Jeremy Bourgeois.

One of several testy exchanges between the two came after Gray commented that it was sad the town had to think about enacting an ethics policy and that it was too bad people just couldn't respect each other. Nadeau pounced.

"You want to speak about ethics?" Nadeau muses. "I find it hard to believe that you as chairman of the board can apply for a job and stay on the board that will ultimately choose the person who gets the job."

"I'm not involved in the process," Gray replies.

"That's still not ethical and the right thing to do is resign, so I'm asking for your resignation."

"Stan I'm not gonna address that," Gray tersely says.

"I'll take that as a no," Nadeau retorts.

Later in the meeting after Selectman Andrew Rawson urged openness and asked residents to call him directly Nadeau pounced again.

"I've messaged one of you three three times, never got a response," he said. "Then I came across one of you there at the recycling center and I was told right to my face you cannot speak about anything cause the lawyer said you couldn't speak ... so with that said how are we making phone calls?"

A few moments later Gray interjects, "First off the lawyer didn't tell all three of us because one of us (presumably Gray) wasn't involved in it," which drew another swift response from Nadeau.

"I'm sure as the chairman of this board you see all that the lawyer says to this board to do," he said.

Gray and the board then say no. "I stay totally out of that stuff," Gray says. A second or two later, Gray says, "Stan you can believe me or not, I don't care."

"I don't trust you, it's that simple," Nadeau adds.

"Good," Gray replies before moving the agenda forward.

After the meeting Nadeau posted on Our Milton Home Facebook page, "Mr. Gray stated that he did not care what I thought. I for one feel that his response is not what we need for a BOS chairman."

On Wednesday Gray posted on the page, "Mr. Nadeau had posted earlier that I said 'I did not care about his thoughts,' that is not exactly accurate. What was said was concerning Mr. Nadeau saying he did not believe me when I said that I had stayed completely out of any conversation concerning the interim TA and being told to not say anything by legal counsel. What I did say to Mr. Nadeau was, 'You can believe me or not, I really don't care.'"

Selectmen have not released when any of the what is thought to be a half dozen or so applicants may come before the board.